November 25, 2022
Last week, one of the more anticipated films of the year was released in theaters and it is one that I highly recommend. Unfortunately, it did poorly at the box office, but the good news is that it will likely be available at home very soon. She Said tells the story of the two New York Times journalists (portrayed by Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan) who broke the Harvey Weinstein story, with significant help from the victims willing to go on the record.
The movie is a classic example of an investigative journalism story, where we experience the highs and lows of reporters trying to get their story across the finish line. While the ultimate conclusion is not in doubt (as we all know WHAT happened), the way the story is laid out does a nice job of showing us HOW the reporters got it done. The screenplay was based on the book of the same name, written by the journalists. The subject matter can be a little difficult to hear at times, but I think director Maria Schrader made a very smart choice in how she presented the victims telling their stories. And the performances by Mulligan and Kazan were excellent, demonstrating that a film like this simply doesn’t work without strong actors at the top. With She Said now in wide release, I thought it would be a good opportunity to write about some of my favorite movies centered in the world of journalism.
As I started to make a list of potential movies to cover, I was pretty surprised how many films I came up with, but this can be a popular genre. To me, the key to a successful journalism film is a compelling story that grabs the audience as much as it grabs the journalist. There has to be high stakes, conflict among the characters (whether they are working together or not), and a few laughs even if it’s a drama. And lots of laughs if it’s a comedy. And yes, there can be successful journalism comedies, if they have talented writers crafting the story.
Since this is one of my favorite genres, it’s no surprise that I’ve already covered a number of quality journalism movies. At the risk of repeating myself, here is a quick list of those films, and my original post where you can read my full thoughts.
- Broadcast News – A perfect example of a journalism movie that is also a comedy. Of course, the reason this is such a masterpiece is the brilliant script by James L. Brooks (who also directed the film), and top-notch performances from Holly Hunter, William Hurt, and Albert Brooks. I defy you to watch this movie and not laugh hysterically during the scene where they scramble to get the video tape loaded in time for the broadcast, or Brooks’ masterful battle with flop sweat while anchoring the evening news. This whole picture is a chef’s kiss. Covered as part of My Favorite Comfort Movies last year here.
- Almost Famous – I was recently listening to an interview with writer-director Cameron Crowe on the Bill Simmons Podcast and continue to be amazed that this story actually happened. Yes, Crowe’s story as a high-school student / wannabe rock journalist for Rolling Stone is (mostly) based on his experience touring with such legendary bands like Led Zeppelin and The Allman Brothers that helped inspire the film’s band Stillwater. What might be even more amazing is that Fast Times at Ridgemont High is based on the book Crowe wrote after going undercover in a high-school. What an incredible origin story for one of the better writer-directors in the last forty years. Covered as part of my favorite films of 2000 here.
- Good Night, Good Luck – The ultra-serious story of Edward R. Murrow’s battle with network executives over coverage of Joseph McCarthy’s witch-hunt Congressional hearings in the 1950s. David Strathairn is incredible as Murrow, but the real star is the job George Clooney did writing and directing the film, along with co-starring as Murrow’s producer. This is the kind of story that will (sadly) always feel relevant when considering the relationship of journalism vs. politics. Covered as part of my look at Clooney vs. Hanks here.
- Zodiac – Is this a thriller? A serial killer movie? A cop movie? A journalism movie? All of the above? You know the answer. And I’ll never get tired of watching Zodiac (and writing about it). Covered as part of my look at David Fincher’s career here.
- The Post – Portraying The Washington Post on screen is sacred ground in my mind, since it’s hard to top the best of the best (up next), but this is still a pretty damn good movie. Steven Spielberg gets his shot at the crusading journalism story with this tale of the publication of The Pentagon Papers by the reporters of the Post. The stars here are Meryl Streep (as publisher Katharine Graham) and Tom Hanks (as editor Ben Bradlee) making the tough decisions whether to publish what they found. Two minor deductions for Hanks’ awful accent and the last scene, where Graham says, “I hope we never have anything so controversial like that again” before we see the Watergate break-in, as too “on-the-nose”. Covered as part of my look at the brilliant career of Steven Spielberg here.
- All the President’s Men – A few weeks ago, I wrote about the film Gaslight and the origins of the term, which is frequently used in today’s world of questionable sourcing of “facts.” I wonder if we will reach a point where hardly anyone will know where the term originated. I was thinking about this concept at the Philadelphia Film Festival, where I saw The Grab, an excellent documentary about the world’s food and water crisis and the efforts of foreign governments and large corporations to secure resources and make a fortune off of land grabs. The leading journalist in the movie (who did a wonderful Q&A after the screening) said a familiar phrase in the early part of the film – “Follow the money.” If you don’t know that phrase, check out one of my earliest Comfort Movies posts here, where I covered one of my all-time favorites, All the President’s Men.
OK, on to a new crop of films that capture the journalism storyline very well.
The Oscar Winner – Spotlight (2015)
In 2015, I wasn’t seeing many movies in the theater (just too much going on in my life), but given the quality reviews ahead of the release of Spotlight, I made an effort to see it as soon as I could. I was very impressed at this quality story of how a small group of reporters with The Boston Globe exposed the disgraceful conduct of the Catholic Church in their city. Spotlight would go on to win Best Picture at the Oscars. Over the last few years, I think I must have heard too many criticisms that this film was overrated, because when I revisited it ahead of writing this post, I was pleasantly surprised how well the film still holds up. And there is one big reason – an absolutely loaded cast, who are all excellent (aside from a few questionable accents – I just can’t seem to move past hearing fake Boston accents in movies).
The Spotlight team at the Globe was focused on investigations that were kept top-secret from the rest of the paper, so the journalists could work without worrying that their stories would leak before the investigation was completed. Leading the charge is Michael Keaton, with Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and Brian d’Arcy James on his team. As they work through one reported case of a priest sexually abusing a child, they uncover more and more widespread abuse, along with the leadership of the Catholic Church covering up the crimes and not removing priests from their roles. Other standout performances for me were John Slattery as Ben Bradlee, Jr. (who oversaw the Spotlight team), Liev Schreiber as Marty Banon (the new editor at the Globe), and Stanley Tucci as an attorney for the abuse victims. This is truly a film with perfect casting, even if there are a few melodramatic moments, something I am willing to forgive with a picture about such a serious topic.
What I particularly like about the way Spotlight is told is that we see all angles of an investigation. We get the shoe leather reporting from Ruffalo and McAdams. We see the quiet leadership from Schreiber, who instills in his team the importance of focusing on the big picture beyond the individual stories. We watch as Keaton faces the guilt for not catching on to the crisis much earlier in his career. And most importantly, we see the influence that the Catholic Church, arguably the most powerful organization in the world, can have on everyone in a community, regardless of the true story. An excellent display of journalism on screen.
Another Oscar Winner – Citizenfour (2014)
One aspect of doing this blog that has been very rewarding is the opportunity to use films as a way to learn about a topic I knew virtually nothing about. And that was certainly the case with this next movie. As Citizenfour opens, we are focused on documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, who was working on a project about post 9/11 U.S. government surveillance techniques. She receives an anonymous tip from someone who claims to have explosive information about some really shady practices performed by U.S. intelligence agencies. When she eventually meets up with her source in a Hong Kong hotel, we discover his identity – Edward Snowden.
What unfolds over the next ninety minutes of Citizenfour is a breathtaking step by step examination of how Snowden became known to the world in 2013. He tells his story to journalist Glenn Greenwald (of The Guardian), while Poitras films all of the action. What Snowden describes is a widespread invasion of privacy across the country under the banner of “national security.” Regardless of your opinion of Snowden, who has been labeled as everything from “patriot” to “traitor”, this documentary is a fascinating portrait of an explosive story unfolding in real time. I can only imagine the thoughts that Poitras and Greenwald had going through their brains the moment they realized what they had for a story.
Citizenfour won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 2014 and Poitras looks to be in the mix again this year, with All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, a film that takes a close look at the Sackler family and their role in the country’s opioid crisis. The picture has received incredible reviews during its film festival run this fall and will be released later this year. Until then, check out Citizenfour to see her talents on full display.
The Slapstick Comedy – The Paper (1994)
Aside from a deep cast with Michael Keaton at the top of the call sheet, and this film taking place at a newspaper, there is very little in common between Spotlight and The Paper. No, this movie is not nearly as serious – in fact, Ron Howard’s film is more of a slapstick comedy that I think works pretty well, except the last twenty minutes where it goes off the rails. That’s ok. Not every comedy is perfect.
Keaton plays the metro editor of a New York City tabloid-type newspaper (clearly modeled off of the NY Post). He is being recruited by the high-brow paper across town (read: New York Times), and his wife desperately wants him to get out of the daily grind he is experiencing. But as much as he stresses everyday (downing cans of Coke like Tic-Tacs), he bleeds newspaper ink and can’t let go of the rush. The Paper follows 24 hours in the life of everyone in Keaton’s orbit – his very pregnant wife (Marisa Tomei), his editor (Robert Duvall), the business manager constantly looking to cut costs (Glenn Close), and the wacky investigative reporter (Randy Quaid), among many others. While stressing about impending fatherhood, his job prospects, and the wacky work environment, he is determined to pursue the truth about a shooting the night before where the cops may have arrested the wrong suspects.
My admiration for The Paper is probably influenced by the fact that I saw this movie many times during its run on cable television in the late 1990s. And quite simply, it’s a fun popcorn movie. Are there plot holes? Sure. Is the ending too over-the-top to be realistic? Absolutely. Do I still get a kick out of the scene where Keaton rushes to prevent the printing of a bad story and Quaid tells him, “You gotta say it. How many times do you get the opportunity to say it?” And Keaton responds, “Stop the presses!!!!” You’re damn right.
Now, This Is How You Do Satire – Network (1976)
Do you want to know the sign of a good satire? When you watch it more than 40 years after its release, you realize that we are pretty damn close to the environment the film was imagining. And that is certainly the case with the 1976 classic Network, with Sidney Lumet directing a script by Paddy Chayefsky, considered one of the best writers of his generation. The film is set in the world of network television news with commentary on the conflict between business and journalism, the cult of personality, the absurdity of fame and what people will do to achieve that fame. Keep in mind this was 1976, nowhere near the absurdity we see in today’s social media filled environment, which makes this such a fascinating rewatch.
At the center of the picture is Howard Beale (played by Peter Finch who died shortly after the film’s release and would win a posthumous Oscar for Best Actor), the lead anchor of the evening news. After he is fired for low ratings, he goes on the air to tell his audience that he will kill himself on the air in one week, noting that it will have a dramatic increase in the ratings, which is what his bosses want. What follows is a ludicrous plot where Beale becomes a “prophet” to his followers who watch him every night telling them to rise up and fight back against the corrupt world of business and government that is taking over the country. If you’ve heard the phrase “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore,” you can thank Chayefsky and Finch for this legendary scene.
With Beale’s ratings on the rise, the head of programming (played by Faye Dunaway) sees an opportunity to create similar type “reality-based” programming. Her boss, played by Robert Duvall, goes even further by moving the news division under the entertainment division in a bid to increase ratings. Things spiral out of control, all in the name of helping the network’s corporate parent increase their profits.
What makes Network such a fun watch is the radical turns the story takes, and Chayefsky’s clever script, which has so many memorable scenes. My favorite may be when a group of radical terrorists, who have been given their own show, are negotiating the terms of their agreement with the network bosses. The way they casually rattle off legal terms of entertainment deals with the same passion as their conversations to overthrow the government had me in stitches.
I can’t end this praise of Network without mentioning the cast, which is fantastic from top to bottom. Besides Finch as Beale, you have William Holden as the head of the news division trying to protect his best friend, who has clearly gone over the edge. While helping Dunaway’s character, he soon begins an affair with her, jeopardizing his marriage. Side note: Holden’s wife is played by Beatrice Straight, who won Best Supporting Actress and set the record for shortest amount of screentime by an Oscar winner (about five minutes). Rounding out the top-notch performances are excellent turns by Robert Duvall as head of the network, and Ned Beatty as head of the network’s corporate parent. As I’ve written many times before, satire is incredibly hard to pull off, but the team behind Network did it brilliantly, delivering an all-time classic.
An All-Too Common Story – Shattered Glass (2003)
If you ever saw this movie in a vacuum without knowing it was a true story, you’d probably think the plot was too implausible to be realistic. But, Shattered Glass (written and directed by Billy Ray, who I highlighted a few weeks ago with Breach) is the true story of Stephen Glass, a writer who fabricated multiple stories for The New Republic magazine. When we first encounter our main character, he is an insecure writer trying to get ahead and win the approval of his co-workers. He frequently entertains them with wild tales of people he has encountered, wondering if they would make a good story. As we learn throughout the film, of course they make great stories – because they were fictional tales, presented as true stories. The film focuses on one story about Glass’s experience at a computer hacker conference. It proves wildly popular and catches the eye of a writer at the digital page of Forbes magazine, who starts to wonder if the story is too good to be true. When he starts to investigate, the threads come apart and Glass is exposed as a fraud.
There are three characters at the center of the story – Glass (portrayed by Hayden Christenson, who is very good in the role), his new editor (played by Peter Sarsgaard, who is excellent), and the Forbes writer (Steve Zahn in a great performance). In addition to seeing how Glass’s downfall unfolded, the film is a fascinating examination of a time when upstart internet journalism was viewed as second-class (or probably much lower) compared to the “high-quality” publications of magazines like The New Republic. The thought that a writer from “the internet” could expose something at such a classy magazine seemed unheard of in the late 1990s. When you think about the instant reaction world of journalism we live in now, some twenty years later, the practice feels like “get the story out now, figure out the facts later.” A true reminder that you always have to second guess an article you are reading that purports to be “factual” or “news.”
Life Imitates Art – The China Syndrome (1979)
I was too young to see The China Syndrome when it came out (I’m old, but not that old), and I only watched it for the first time in preparation for this topic. It’s known as one of the iconic movies of the 1970s, reflecting the paranoia around the unknowns of nuclear energy and what could happen if something went wrong. While I knew a little about the film and a certain incident around the same time, I didn’t realize that The China Syndrome is a tale of life imitating art.
At the center of the story are Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas as journalists doing a routine story about a nuclear power plant. While on location, they witness an “incident” that may be nothing, or may be something more serious. After heading back to the studio, they start digging into what really happened, talking with nuclear scientists and some workers at the plant. Chief among that latter group is a supervisor played by Jack Lemmon, demonstrating another excellent performance, who feels that something more serious may have occurred than what his superiors have told him. When he uncovers nefarious activity by the company, he wrestles with sharing the truth with the public or risk losing his job if his company goes out of business. The film is pretty good and the performances of the leads are top-notch. This was also the time when Douglas was producing movies, not just acting in them. He won an Oscar for producing One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest four years earlier and was the producer of The China Syndrome.
While I liked the movie, what I found more interesting in my research is the incredible timing of this film’s release and the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. Now, I’ve heard of this incident, but knew nothing about it. When you grow up in the 1980s and hear “nuclear accident”, you think of two things: Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. What I discovered in researching The China Syndrome is that the accident at Three Mile Island occurred less than TWO WEEKS after the movie came out. Can you imagine that? A big blockbuster about the dangers of nuclear power plants and then shortly thereafter there is a meltdown? Yikes, at least we didn’t have to witness the events depicted in Armageddon or Deep Impact after those films came out. OK, moving right along to another example of the real world looking just like the movies.
Life Imitates Art (Again) – Wag the Dog (1997)
Now, this one I remember. How could I forget? In late 1997, Wag the Dog was released in theaters. Directed by Barry Levinson, the absurdist satire film told the story about a U.S. President facing a scandal after he groped an underage girl in the White House two weeks before Election Day. In fact, the incident happened in the small room just behind the Oval Office. Sound familiar? Hold that thought. The White House staff call in a political operative (played by Robert De Niro) who decides that there is only one thing that can distract the public and the press from this impending crisis – a war that the country can rally around. But wait, how can you “create” a war? Easy – hire a Hollywood producer (played by Dustin Hoffman) to create the event, just like he does every day at movie studios. What transpires is a pretty funny satire on politics, media, Hollywood, and the absurdity of how people judge what is important about public figures. I could only imagine what this film would look like today. But that’s not the only interesting thing about Wag the Dog.
About a month after the film’s release, the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal broke and suddenly our real President faced a sex scandal involving a young woman in the White House. As evening newscasts, newspapers, national magazines, and a blossoming resource called the “internet” became a feeding frenzy of stories about the scandal, Clinton and his team went into crisis mode. Weeks and months passed as sordid details were leaked into the press and a nation wondered what would happen to the Commander in Chief. Then an interesting thing happened. In August of 1998, Clinton addressed the nation to tell us that he authorized the destruction of a factory in Sudan that was manufacturing chemical weapons for al-Qaeda. I actually remember watching this address with family members while on vacation and everyone had the same thought – did he just do this to get attention away from his many scandals? Remember – he had more than just the Lewinsky affair to deal with. Naturally, the comparisons were made to Wag the Dog, but luckily there wasn’t an entire war created out of thin air. But it was still a pretty interesting coincidence at the time.
The Masterpiece – The Insider (1999)
It’s funny that when I started looking at the movies to cover for this post and compiling the ones that I’ve already written about, I was shocked that I somehow never found an excuse to cover one of my favorite films in this genre, The Insider. But alas, here we are. Put this on the list of movies I will, most likely, never get tired of watching. Director Michael Mann did a brilliant job bringing the true story of a Big Tobacco whistleblower to the screen, delivering a movie that earned seven Oscar nominations (but no wins), including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for the star of the film, Russell Crowe. This was right in the middle of Crowe’s hot streak, starting with L.A. Confidential two years earlier, and starting a stretch of three straight nominations for Best Actor including 2000’s Gladiator (for which he won), and A Beautiful Mind in 2001.
Crowe’s performance as Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, a scientist with Brown & Williamson, showcased why he was such a brilliant actor. He immersed himself into the role of a quiet, reserved, and very smart man, who sometimes falls victim to his own genius. When he is fired from his job and connects with Lowell Bergman, the producer of 60 Minutes played by Al Pacino in a fantastic performance, he indicates that he knows about his company’s knowledge that nicotine was addictive and purposely took action to make cigarettes more addictive.
What I love so much about Mann’s film is the way the story unfolds. At first, we see Bergman trying to convince Wigand to go on the record for the 60 Minutes story. When he makes the decision to be interviewed and testify in a lawsuit, it seems like the “big event” is going to lead to a culmination of the film. But, we’re only halfway through the story as we then navigate the internal politics at CBS News about whether to run the story at all. Bergman is furious that his superiors (particularly those at CBS Corporate who are afraid of a lawsuit) would hold off on airing Wigand’s interview. What unfolds is a different kind of conflict – business vs. journalism. Who makes the decision about what is “news” when the corporate officers and journalism team are at odds?
It makes for a fascinating debate as Bergman the crusader squares off against Don Hewitt, the show’s Executive Producer, with Mike Wallace (played by Christopher Plummer in an iconic performance) portrayed as squishy, to say the least. Reportedly, Wallace was very pissed when this film came out, as he does not come off as the crusading journalist that we all knew him to be. The scene where he tees off on the company’s General Counsel was particularly harsh, even though it was probably accurate. Behind the scenes, Wallace was known to be a bit of an egomaniac. But he’s more of a supporting character in this story – the true stars are Crowe and Pacino, portraying two men whose lives intersected in a way dramatically changed their futures. The Insider – a true masterclass in how to convey journalism on the big screen.
That’s all for this week. I hope you enjoyed my look at some of my favorite journalism movies. I’ll be back next week for a look at one of my favorite genres – the music documentary. A year ago we got to bask in the brilliance of The Beatles: Get Back and next week, I’ll share some of my other favorite music documentaries. Thanks for reading and if you’d like to be notified of future posts, you can subscribe here.